Cliff Johnson is a huge name in
the puzzle business, having recently gained notoriety for designing
the $100,000 treasure hunt for David Blaine’s book, Mysterious Stranger. Before going on to consult for Disney and
Interplay, Johnson created several brilliant standalone adventures
for the Macintosh, designed around the concept known as the
“meta-puzzle.”

In an interview in 2003, Johnson explains this term: “It’s a collection of
puzzles that, when solved, each give a piece of a master puzzle.”
This was not a new concept at the time, but its application to
computers and adventure games was incredibly progressive in 1987.

The philosophy contributed to Cliff Johnson’s first game, The
Fool’s Errand, which is arguably the first known computer game
based upon a meta-puzzle. The game was a massive success. Johnson
refers to college students and other adults coming up to him at
conventions and telling him “I hate you,” because his game devoured
so much of their time. Although The Fool’s Errand was more of
a puzzle game than a traditional adventure title, it did have a
plot, one of an ancient Sun Map that would restore peace to four
medieval kingdoms.

The Fools Errand’s success would
lead Johnson into publishing 3 in Three, an entirely new game
with an improved storyline. The protagonist is “3,” a number that
busts out of a computer spreadsheet and into the wilderness of the
computer mainframe. 3’s attempts to return to his rightful place in
the spreadsheet characterize the majority of the plot, which is
divided by a wide variety of word and number puzzles.

Both 3 in Three and The Fool’s Errand are excruciatingly linear games, but
calling them strictly puzzle games because of this would be an
oversimplification. The games are filled with communicative
interludes (what we would probably refer to today as cut scenes)
where characters interact or plot elements are provided. In my
personal opinion, these scenes more resemble a traditional adventure
than a puzzle game. You don’t play through a Cliff Johnson game for
a temporary distraction during your coffee break. The puzzles are
the focus, not the dressing, and your reward for solving them is
usually an entertaining bit of narrative that fills out the game’s
story.

If
you appreciate quality puzzle design and a quirky narrative, give The Fool’s Errand or 3 in Three a try. You won’t
regret it. And Johnson offers the game downloads, free of charge.